


My One and Only (Guardian)

by BeenThere_DoneThat



Category: Far Cry (Video Games), Far Cry 5, Far Cry: New Dawn
Genre: Developing Relationship, Eventual Smut, Injury Recovery, M/M, The Judge is really a great guy, hes just intense
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-30
Packaged: 2019-12-26 23:42:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18292547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BeenThere_DoneThat/pseuds/BeenThere_DoneThat
Summary: Focuses more on how hardcore/intense the Judge/Deputy is now that all those years have passed. Reads into the trauma and change he went through with The Father. Not all of it in a good way. This shows his relationship and how it progresses with the Captain, Cooper McCloud.





	1. A New Follower

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a little something I'm working on. It's not really anything set in stone. It's just something to entertain me for sec. it’ll just be a bunch of random things between the Judge and my Captain Cooper McCloud.
> 
> Also the only way I can describe how my Captain looks without a fat ass paragraph where I explain everything all fancy like is like this. You know that blonde homie Irwin Smith from Attack on Titan? Yeah him, except like younger looking and has a little more sex appeal i guess??? lol his hair's not as neat either, little messier. Also I haven't even watched AoT I just thought that was the best way to explain my Cap. Obviously they're not that similar, you'll see. But yeh enjoy.

Cooper’s been trying his best to get his shit together with this new ‘hero’ thing he's got going on. He's not sure how he feels about it but he's still trying. He just met the infamous Joseph Seed a couple of days ago. Even before then he'd met a rather large, mysterious man called The Judge.

This man is nothing like anyone he's ever met before. Odd in every way possible, very quiet, and over all seemingly untrustworthy. That's just his opinion though. These nice folk known as Peggie's or whatever the Eden's Gate people like to call themselves believe the mysterious man is just dandy. They don't have a care in the world for him. Cooper though, Cooper doesn't have a good feeling about him. He just feels uneasy around the leather clad man.

He's done a few odd tasks for the man who thinks he's the _new_ prophecy but when Cooper finally has his final meeting (at least for a while) with Joseph Seed. He's standing there, the suns rays beating down on him, with the Eden's Gate founder and his Judge right in front of him. The last thing McCloud realizes is that Joseph wants him to _take_  his Judge. Like he's adopting a fucking puppy.

 _What?_ He repeats in his mind, only mildly flabbergasted. _He wants me to take him?_

It takes a lot to keep his face neutral but he seems to be able to pull it off. He's now walking out of that place with said enormous, terrifying killer in tow. What really gets McCloud is when he said that he only speaks violence. That doesn't sound too good. What it _does sound like_  is that the guy can kill and Cooper supposes that's useful in his current situation. So it's final then, he's adopted a cold blooded, brain washed murderer.

They're walking out of there, not side by side, but with the hooded figure traveling a few steps behind McCloud. It unnerves him, but he doesn't say anything. Then the Captain remembers that he'd dropped his car off some ways down the path. Like wa–y down the path. Also by left he means crashed, he's hoping they'll be able to get it up and working again. Or maybe just snag one from the highwaymen, if it doesn't have a bomb in it.

They're walking for hours it seems. It was about an hour into the walk that Cooper looked over to the other man to see him still following close behind. “Hey,” Cooper called out to him.

The Judge nodded his head towards him in acknowledgment, so he continues. “I crashed my car a little ways down.” Cooper said it almost bashfully. “Don't know if we're going to make it before sunset.”

A short gravelly groan escaped from behind the mask. McCloud didn't know what that meant so he just went with it. Cooper shrugged and continued walking, the hooded man at his side this time. So now they're camping in the middle of the forest at night. This place isn't safe during the night and everyone knows it.

To say the least they had an eventful night of some curious boar coming to check them out and thankfully not fucking them and their campsite up. They make it to camp the next day and the new member of Prosperity gets comfortable, or as comfortable as a man like him can get.

It's sometime later, a few weeks of fighting with said mysterious man. The guy’s an absolute beast in every way, shape, and form. The Judge is mostly a silent killer, stealthily pulling back the drawstring to his bow and letting arrows glide through the air to reach their destination in the poor bastard he has his sights set on. Then there's the other side of him, the side that comes out in more _intense_  situations. The savage killer Cooper can see in him when they get into sticky situations.

The Judge is one of the most loyal people he's ever got the joy of fighting with, even when they had little to no connection between each other. He really steps up his game when he realizes McCloud’s in danger. He's really never let Cooper get severely hurt, he's always taken the bullet for him or brutally killed whoever wronged the Cap before it got to that point. The Captain has realized that the hooded man is _very_  protective and when he has a job to do he's going to do it well.

If the Captain’s being completely honest with himself he's starting to have a man-crush on him. Okay, probably a little more than a man-crush on him. McCloud _is_ bisexual, but the mysterious figure is starting to turn him on in way too many inappropriate ways. He turns him on in ways that are just wrong. Like the way the Judge will just fuck someone up if they even get close to touching a hair on his head. He's just to violently _possessive_ and _boy_ does it get him going.

Tell him if he's wrong but it's kind of hot. Not only that aspect of things the way the man carries himself makes it difficult for McCloud to not stare at him. The guy’s a watchful, burly, terrifying, deadly, silent, killing machine. Cooper can't see his eyes beyond the dark holes of his mask but the eerie way he’ll stare in Coopers direction happened way too often. Always watching, making sure he's not in trouble. Half the time the eyeless stare makes his cheeks burn hot, he can't help but looking back though.

The Judge is usually right beside him, almost always too close for comfort. He basically uses touch as a replacement for his lack of speech. Too often is the Judge grabbing at him and yanking him around when they're fighting it out with the enemy. Once he'd even grabbed his hair for the sole fact of being unable to reach the rest of Cooper’s body. Don't even get the Cap started on what that did to him. The rough tug on his blonde locks caused a breathy groan to escape from plush, pink lips and even he was to embarrassed to look at the hooded man for a little while after the battle.

Don't even get McCloud started on the noises the guy makes. The Judge can sound like he's feeling so many emotions all at once. He can sound hurt, angry, sad, and neutral all together. These growls border closer to a pissed off wolf rather than a normal human man. It just doesn't sound normal; can't be normal. Something horrible had to have happened to him for his voice to sound like that. Shit, it's not even his voice. For all Cooper knows, he could've gotten his vocal cords cut out, or maybe his tongue. Who knows, he feels like it's too sensitive a topic for him to ask anyway.

Today though, these two have got a date with destiny. Or rather just an angry group of Highway Men to deal with. Cooper is just walking out from talking to Kim and his eyes search the courtyard for the black leather clad man. He's honestly pretty hard to miss, Coopers almost confused as to why he doesn't see him instantly.

He walks out further, gives Timber a couple of good scratches and tells him this mission is too dangerous for him. Then scouts the area once more to conclude that his man isn't around, he finally decides to head out the gate. When the doors slam before him he still notes that he doesn't see him. The faint hum of a four-wheeler gets closer and closer, then out of the trees comes the Judge. Going way too damn fast for his own good, he circles around McCloud once before skidding to a dusty halt.

Coopers sky blue eyes follow him the whole way and stop dead on that white masked face of his. After Coopers done following the strong line of his back and the broad form of his shoulders he shakes himself out of his trance. He watches the Judge nod his head towards the four-wheeler.

Dirty blond brows knit together, is he wanting him to get on the _same_ four-wheeler as him? “So, uh, you couldn't find my car?” The Captain asks trying to keep his voice monotone.

He only gets a negative shake of the others head, a short groan, and another nod to get on. Not even two seconds later, apparently two seconds too long for the Judge, the taller man reaches and leans far enough to grasp ahold of the front of his shirt and drag him closer. He basically crushes Coop’s smaller form onto his own arm. Not politely enough, he shoves him back with his elbow afterwards. The movement forces him to plop down into the rear of the bike.

“God damn, alright.” He borderline yells at the man's rough handling. “Fuck, you could've just said please.” He teases with a vicious smirk. Which only earns him another elbow to the ribs and an animalistic growl that make shivers go down his spine and a pained yelp come out of his mouth.

Right when they're about to speed off the Judge realizes the blonde’s hands aren't around his waist or hanging onto him in any type of fashion, which can be detrimental to the other man's health. He's about to speed off and Coopers ass would've flown right off and bit the dust. Judge hates having to basically _ask_ the Captain to do everything. Thankfully he doesn't actually have to, but sometimes he swears.

The Judge sits up straight and pushes a shoulder back into the other male, trying to signal for Coop to grab onto him. The Judge can see an upcoming attitude on his handsome face when his brows come together. “What you ass?” He says it as a joke, only partly serious.

Another louder growl emits from the mask and a gloved hand reaches back to bring the others forearm and wrap it around his toned stomach. The action causes his already pink tinted cheeks to become hotter and his face let's on a more timid expression.

“Oh, okay.” He mumbles and snakes both hands around the other, hands flat on the toned muscle underneath. It's hard to not want to rest his chin on him and just relax.

Then he remembers exactly why he shouldn't relax. The Judge absolutely gasses it. His arms tighten up around the other and he's actually holding on for dear life right now. God, as he squeezes he can feel how thick the other man is with muscle. Really Cooper just wishes the Judge would dominate him already and leave him sated, but that's too much to ask for, now is it? Apparently so. Even then McCloud doesn't think he'd act too aggressively towards a homosexual advance, but the Cap just doesn't feel like it'd be mirrored.

They ride for quite some time, probably about twenty minutes and they still had ten more. The vibration has made the Captain’s ass go numb so he keeps shifting his weight and adjusting his position behind the silent man. After about the fourth time he does it he feels more than hears a growl in front of him then the bike skids to a stop.

 _Oh god._ The Captain thinks. _He thinks I'm trying to make a move. He's gonna beat my ass._

The Judge turns around as much as he could on the bike and bump his forearm into the smaller male. Not too hard but enough for the Cap to realize he means for him to stop. He emits a short but not really aggressive groan.

The Captain keeps one hand on the broad, meaty shoulder so he can lean back and throw his other hand up, palm facing the Judge in surrender. “Hey, my ass is numb don't kill me. I have to move around to... you know..” he defends himself comically with just a hint of awkward.

A groan that basically says _Whatever bitch._  comes from him and by the way the dark man's head moves it looks like he's rolling his eyes. Letting out a huff of breath he moves his shoulder in a circular motion to tell the Cap that he need to hold on again. He does and again he wraps his arms around the bigger male. This time, even if he just basically yelled at him because he thought the Cap was grinding on him, he tries his luck. Pressing a palm slightly higher onto a muscled pectoral. He's so full of muscle, so _big_. He keeps it there the rest of the time, surprisingly he lets him.

They've arrived now, the Cap's partially sated because he got to have a close ride with his partner, but his ass is still numb. So they go on foot for a while to get closer to the camp. The Judge following silently behind; his silent protector. The Judge with his Bows and Arrows and Cooper’s sniper rifle they're able to silently take down all but five Highwaymen.

Cooper tells the Judge to stay there while he goes to the other side to get a picture of where the others are hiding. Then the Judge hears a pained _Fuck!_. It's the Captain. Then he just flat out screams and that's enough to get the Judge in hyper mode. He looks for remaining enemies while heading closer to the screaming. He can't let anything happen to the Captain.

He turns a corner into a building and sees a Highwayman standing above him with a baseball bat on the ground and a large kitchen knife in his hand. The Judge’s eyes go wide behind his mask, he stabbed the fucking Captain. He jumps into action coming up behind the enemy wrapping an arm around the neck in a chokehold and has a loose arrow in his hand that he uses to jackhammer in and out of the Highwayman’s side effectively killing him.

He drops the body, hops over it and meets the Captain on the ground. He goes to grab for him when he hears the rough voice of another highway man. He only has enough time to look over and see a small throwing knife in the others hand. He witnesses it leaving and obviously heading towards the man on the ground. The Judge does the only thing he's ever known to do: sacrifice himself for others. It won't do too much damage but it's still getting stabbed. He hovers his body on top of Cooper, a knee in between the smaller man's legs and he kneels waiting for the impact of the knife.

When it comes it enters the muscled portion of his shoulder. Thankfully that's better than hitting straight bone. Once the knife lands he spins around and plants an arrow in the man's head. It slides right in between his eyes and halfway out the back of his head.

Then he feels a hand clawing at the leg he has between the blonde’s legs. “Hey,” the Captain hisses out. “Judge, that fuckhead stabbed me. Oh fu–ck.”

He Judge looks down on him, hovering over Cooper looks at his wounds as the blonde paws at his fur covered shoulder, pulling him closer. Coop’s got four stab wounds, one in his side closer to his ribs, the other two just a bit lower than that, and one through his forearm, all the way through. He's bleeding a lot. So the Judge shakes off the hand on his shoulder, growls at him _I’ll be right back._ is basically what he said.

He comes back with a rolled up piece of duct take, it looks like a rope. The larger man wraps it around the upper half of his arm just in case the knife hit some major arteries. Then he lifts up Coopers shirt and pressurizes the wounds on his side. All the while Coop’s cursing and clawing at him through the pain.

Cooper hisses at the harsh contact and takes a sweaty hand off the fur on the others armor to feel the back of his head. It comes back with blood and he concludes he's got a concussion. He lets his arms drop, “Hey big guy, I think I have a fucking concussion. I'm getting light headed. I've probably got some kind of internal bleeding too. Fuck.”

Noticing the Judge looking up to him while straddling his left leg and applying pressure to his stab wound. The Judge releases one hand to reach up and softly run fingers through the back of his head and sees blood when he pulls them back. He nods back at the Captain, he probably does.

“Fuck man, I'm getting tired I need to get up.” Yeah he's leaning up against a crate but he needs to actually get _up_. Maybe he's dying, who knows. “Help me get up, we need to get back to camp and send our people over here.” He says pain twisted in his voice.

The Judge nods with an affirmative grunt. He stands up, knife still in his back, and reaches down to haul the blonde up by the armpits. The moment he's vertical again Coopers mind is reeling. He's so damn dizzy and he grabs for purchase on the other man. The Judge is there to support him, the line of their bodies pressed together. One of the Judge’s arms wrap around his back not wanting to touch his waist or side to jostle the wound.

“God dammit, I'm not even that bad.” The Captain growls at himself, mad that he needs so much help. Even though it's really much worse than he's trying to convince himself. “It's just my head.” Coop presses harder against the taller man and the Judge pushes back to get him steadied.

Cooper hears insistent growling and feels a hand grab his arm and loop it around the Judges neck. Of course he obliges and wraps his non injured arm around the back of his neck, his height dips for a second and next thing Coop knows is that his vertigo is off again. He's getting carried like a damn bride to her deathly wedding. The Judge has an arm under the crook of his knees, carrying him out of there like a rescued princess. How embarrassing, but hey, Coop would rather _not_ die so he allows it.

He places McCloud on the back of the four wheeler again, hops on in front of him. The Judge is iffy about this position, he's not even sure if the barely lucid blonde can even hold onto him. Cooper is currently leaning his forehead on the others back groaning in pain and holding his side with his good arm. Both injuries are on his left side due to the highwayman being right handed.

Before the Judge did anything he hears a noise of exclamation from the man behind him; a gasp of some sorts. Then a, “Jesus. You've got a knife in your back, buddy.”

The Judge gives him a short groan acknowledging that he heard the statement and is about to get up when he feels a hand trace along the wound on his own shoulder.

“I going to pull it out for you.” He whispers, determined to help his friend out just as he helped him. But he gets another more aggressive sounding growl back. Those half lidded, baby blues look at him, so full of pain, worry, and confusion. “Why not?” He asks, his words slightly breathless due to his dizziness.

Waving him off with a shake of his head and a pat to his thigh that said that Coop doesn't need to worry about him. Then the Judge makes a decision and gets up again causing the blonde to bitch about him moving. The Judge scoots the blonde all the way up to the front and gets in behind him. They're snug against each other, almost too close for Cooper even in this dizzy haze he can feel every bit of the man behind him. He feels a large hand go under the crook of his arm to press back on Coop’s chest, firmly pressing him against the chest of the man behind him. The Judge even leaned back a bit so McCloud could sit comfortably against him. The leathered man didn't want the blonde falling forward either and smacking his face on the four wheeler.

Then they start driving, it's too long of a drive for the Judge. With the Captain in such a condition, he's almost scared Coop could actually be in trouble. Not only from bleeding out, but passing out as well. Then there's the concussion to worry about. Over all he's got too much bullshit to worry about right now. It's hard enough to drive a four wheeler with a whole ass man in front. Especially with the way he leaned back onto his own muscled form.

The blonde has his back pressed tightly against his chest. That's not the worst part, the plump part of his ass is doing all _but_  leaving him alone. Actually, it's quite the nuisance; the way Cooper will twitch or shift about on his lap and completely grind back onto his obviously, nicely sized dick. If that's not a problem then the head leaning back onto his shoulder is. The Captain’s neck is exposed, sinful thoughts of biting it almost comes to mind, leaving bruises on his already battered body.

Occasionally throughout the trip back, the Judge would jostle him to make sure he is still alive and breathing. Have to make sure he's not sleeping, not only for the fact that he's bleeding out like a fucking pig, but he's also got a serious concussion. The man's been hit in the head, full force, by another full grown man with a damn baseball bat. The Judge doubts he's feeling his finest.

As the blonde's head lies against his shoulder, the Judge will nudge him with the edge of the white mask he adorns. The action could almost be mistaken as the Judge nuzzling the other man's ear or hairline. He's had to do it at least three times within the last eight minutes. He's not doing good and he can't... talk to him. So he urges him to wake up by softly knocking his mask against his right temple.

Cooper groans, it's a sad, pathetic sort of sound, painful. Then he adjusts himself, pressing harder against the Judge’s torso, attempting to cuddle up closer. His blonde hair mixed with red is messy and he presses his pale face into the crook of the bigger man's neck through his hood. The Judge can feel the heated breath against him. He can even feel lips when he attempts to talk.

The Captain presses his good hand against his side and grunts again. “I think I'm dying, buddy.” A shiver rakes throughout his body so hard even the Judge can feel it. “I'm getting cold. God damn, it hurts so bad.”

A grunt resonates from the Judges throat. There's so many things he wants to tell him but can't. Why did the Father have to do the things he did to him? Why couldn't the Deputy just shut his fucking mouth and _live_ with the fact that he'd be hiding in a bunker with Joseph Seed for the next seventeen years. Why couldn't he just accept it sooner? Before the damage was done. Maybe he'd still be able to talk then.

No time to dwell in the past when he has a dying man in his arms in the present. He can't let the Cap die. It would just fuck up their whole operation in fighting against the twins and damn, they're doing good right now. He's a good guy, all he's wants to do is help the fine people of Hope County. That's why he came down here in the first place.

With those thoughts in mind, the Judge gasses it. Doesn't let anything get in his way to getting him some medical attention. He needs him to live. Everyone needs him to make it through this. Then they finally, _finally_  get there. The Judge stops right outside the gates. The guards see him and the condition the Captain is in and immediately tells them to open the gates. The Judge carefully picks him off the four wheeler and carries him in.

He's making his way through the short distance to get to the large building in front of him and already people are around the Judge, asking what happened. But he can't even _tell_  them the worst part. So he just grunts and growls for them to get away.

Once he's in, Kim almost loses her shit. “What's wrong? What happened?” She panics as he's laying him down on a bed. The Captain is barely awake and even if he is he's delirious.

The Judge points to his side, arm, and head. He can't say much more. So Kim gets the medics in there and they start frantically working on him. The Judge doesn't stay to watch. He finds himself back outside, leaning against the garage as usual. Realistically, the Captain should be fine, it was just the long ass ride and the loss of blood on the way that wasn't too good for him.

A few days pass and it seems like the Captain is stable. Obviously it's going to put a damper into their plans but shit happens, they're going to have to adapt and overcome. Cooper keeps asking for the Judge, his teammates continue to tell him that they can't find him.

It's been a week and a half, he's getting better, but also still no sign of his savior. Then a thought pops into his head, _Maybe he went back to Joseph._ Its completely plausible. Even though since the day Joseph offered the Judge's services he's been loyal to no end, always hanging around, waiting to be called upon. Coop continues to wonder.


	2. Get to Know Me Just a Little Bit More

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have a good ol' talk. Just some good bonding time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Enjoy please!

Not only a few more days later, Cooper’s lying in bed. He'd just got done eating some soup and cleaning his stitches when the door to his bedroom opens and what he sees is a sight for sore eyes. The massive form of the Judge just waltz into his room. Silent as usual, just barely creeping open the door to see if he's awake, then swinging it open the rest of the way to come in.

The smile that lights up Cooper’s handsome face is precious. Surprise written all over it and smiling so hard he's showing teeth. The Judge stopped at the foot of his bed, not wanting to intrude on his personal space unless told to do so.

Those blue eyes look up and down the leather clad man, then settle on the white mask. “Judge! You are a sight for sore eyes!” He says enthusiastically. “Come here big guy, have a seat.”

The Judge does as he's told and sits in the chair directly beside his bed. The Judge is frustrated. He's always frustrated. He _can't speak_. He can't express anything. No one can see his face, no one will ever hear his voice except for his constant grunts and growls. It pisses him off to no extent, sometimes he's in a constant state of irritation due to this. The only thing he can do is accept it.

So then begins the guessing games. Really the Captain is the one who has adapted to the Judge. He asks questions until he gets a grunt that sounds like an affirmative. He's very patient, the Judge accepts it because this is the closest way they’ll be able to have a normal conversation.

“So,” The Captain begins, sitting up more in the bed. He's shirtless and bandages wrap around his forearm and abdomen. “Obviously you saved my ass. The ride back was pretty fuzzy, but I woke up and you just weren't anywhere to be seen. Where'd you go?” He says it and looks at the Judge like he expects him to answer. Then he asks, “Did you go back to Joseph?”

The Judge leans on the back of the chair, still sitting straight up, legs apart, and his arms crossed loosely. He nods a yes to both the statement about saving him and confirming he did go back to Joseph for some time.

“How come you left?” Already, that is a question the Judge knew Cooper wouldn't guess. But the Judge sees the curiosity in this ocean colored irises staring back at him.

It's odd to see how much they've actually bonded even though the Judge can't speak. Really it's mostly because the Captain talks way too much, so he makes it up for the both of them. He's an extrovert, outgoing too; likes to express himself. The Judge wasn't exactly that, but he wasn't like he is now. Even then, Cooper isn't really the type of guy he'd intentionally hangout with. He's always been a lone wolf so to speak, but he still had an extravagant personality that had Joseph, John, and Jacob spinning their heads a whole 360.

In another world, he'd be the one to tease Cooper. Try his nerves a little, mess with his head in a flirtatious and obscene way maybe. Of course, things have changed. Not only did the Seeds and the situation at Hope County change him but what really did him in was all those years spent with Joseph. He successfully broke him, he's not proud of it. Ashamed really. He's ashamed of what happened, what Joseph did to him.

The Judge only has a connection to a few people here in Hope county and almost all of them don't know what or who he is. They don't know that their beloved Deputy is the Judge now. They speak about him like he's not here, to them he's not. His old self is hardly there anyway, he hasn't lost it, just suppressed it under a copious amount of traumatic events and experiences. He's _still_  terrified to listen to the radio. Terrified to hear that _song_ and have something go terribly wrong with the people he worked to protect so many years ago and is still helping protect with the Captain today.

The Captain is the new Deputy. The old Deputy is the Judge now. The pieces have fallen and there's not much else to do but help where he can. He's helping by doing all that he can for the people around him; working side by side with Cooper. The handsome, blue eyed devil is young, twenty three perhaps. How he got so high in the chain of his profession is a mystery to him but he's got some prowess.

The Judge used to be young once. He was twenty two when he was the deputy, as the Judge he's fucking thirty nine. Good lord, it really gets him when he thinks about it. So he stops thinking about it, focuses all his attention on the man he saved.

Then the Judge shakes his head, answering the blonde's previous question. He doesn't want to get into that. He left for a multitude of reasons. He left because he didn't want to be there if the Captain didn't make it. He left to repent. He left to be alone. He left to _think_. It's too complicated for the Captain to understand even if he could tell him.

The Cap’s face fell, not really in a negative way, just curious. “To hard to explain? Don't think I’ll guess it?”

He nods back to him. Then Cooper smiles, “Man, I don't mean to get all sappy, but I was really pissed off when you weren't here for two damn weeks.”

Under the mask the Judge can't help but furrow his brows. This guy, he makes him want to rub his temples and take a deep breath. Sometimes the Cap gave him a headache, but he gets where he's coming from; Cooper missed him.

“I had everyone coming in to see me, except you. I kept asking for you too.” Cooper chuckles. “Apparently you were MIA.”

The Judge can't stop looking at him, obviously neither can Cooper. He's unabashedly staring into the empty sockets of his mask, trying to see something. Even though he won't find anything, the action is appreciated. The Judge can stare all he wants due to the mask. He stops himself from staring too often simply because he thinks it's weird.

Even though he has restraint, he's not blind, Joseph didn't fuck him up enough to suppress his sexual or emotional urges. Well not enough anyway. He's definitely attracted to the Captain, but it's none of his business to take it that route. It's mind boggling to think the Cap has any type of special connection with him. Yeah, they have camaraderie, but the Judge didn't think it's going any farther than that, at least on the blonde's part.

McCloud stops smiling at him and grabs a small journal of the bedside table. He starts flipping through a few pages. “I've been drawing. Have to stimulate my mind some-fucking-how being in here all day.”

The Judge leans in a little closer to get a look and the blonde stops at a few pages. He's not a bad drawer, a lot of the works are more sketchy than polished. Still pretty good nonetheless. There's some of deers, cougars, other animals, and plants. Then there's some of the people he's seen around camp. The Judge puts his gloved finger to the paper when he sees a drawing of Sharky.

“Okay, I wasn't being weird. I've been asking people if I can sketch them. This is consensual I swear.” The Cap laughs whole heartedly. “Plus the guy's got a nice beard, am I right?”

The Judge agrees about the beard statement by nodding. A light tug of a smile has the corner of his lips peeking up behind his mask. Sharky really gave him a bunch of good laughs. A lot of them did. In a way he's glad he could be around them again. Work close to them and make sure they're all okay.

“I've got a few of you too big guy, wanna see?” McCloud wears a continuous smile, excited to see him the Judge guesses. Maybe he just likes showing people his art. Why can't it be both?

So, of course he wants to see, the Judge grunts and looks up to the blonde. These better be good. He flips through a few pages again. Some are blank, he's that guy who’ll write or draw on a few then skip some pages. Rinse and repeat. Finally he finds them.

The first one is a bit sketchier than the others. He's just standing tall, just a broad form with his arms crossed. He doesn't let him look at it too long before he turns the page, this one’s of the Judge from the hips up nocking an arrow. It's more detailed. He does the stitching of the leather, the fur of his shoulder pads, the lines and notches in his mask. His bow isn't exactly identical, looks more like a regular bow and arrow, but it's still impressive.

The Judge grunts in approval and Cooper laughs. “I know, they're pretty good.” Cocky bastard.

When his laughter dies down, he just looks at the Judge and lets it all spill. “Why do you wear that mask all the time? Why can't you talk? Who are you? What's your name?” He asks the questions softly, slightly whiney, but still not to overzealous. “I know obviously you can't answer, but–damn–I'd like to know. You know?”

The Judge nods, almost depressingly so. Then the blonde hums thoughtfully. “Can you write?”

The Judge nods once again. Of course he can write, but whether or not he willing to give Cooper too much information will depend on how generous he's feeling today. Of course he has things I'd like to say, but he just doesn't even want to go down that route. It just pisses him off and reminds him of what Joseph did to him.

He sets him a blank page and a pencil on the bed next to him. “You don't have to say much if you don't want to. I just–“ he hesitates. “I guess something's better than nothing.”

Contemplating, the Judge forces himself to pick up the pencil and notebook. He tries to make it somewhat legible but it still holds his natural scrawl. He writes, _Years ago, I was just like you. I was in the same place with the same responsibilities. It only gets harder before it gets easier. Trust me. You're going to be lucky to get out of this with all your wits. But don't be like me, be better. More importantly, don't END up like me. If I can help it, I won't let you. Stay watchful. I don't want to disclose much, but Joseph did fucked up things to me all those years I spent with him in that bunker. All of the seeds did. One is the reason I cannot speak. I'm sure you can figure the rest out on your own._

After a few minutes he hands it back. The Judge watches McCloud process the words written there, he's really thinking about it. He can see the gears turning, trying to figure out who exactly he could be. Then the the blonde looks at him. It's bordering on the edge of pity, but more like astonishment.

“I'm sorry you had to spend so much ti–“ Before he could get out the rest of his sentence a large hand clamps down on his mouth. Four of the Judges fingers on his left cheek and a thumb on the other, effectively shutting his ass up.

The Judge holds tight to his face, watching those eyes with dirty blonde lashes blink back at him. He shakes his head slowly at Cooper, almost as if he is chastising a child. The Judge doesn't want to hear that sorry bullshit, there was no other way it'd play out with the decisions he'd made. He's suppressed his inner self for so many years with so many different methods of teachings and tortures. He doesn't want to hear those words come out of his mouth. It just brings a fury that electrocutes him like he's been struck by lightening, it's better to leave it buried.

Then the Judge leans in closer and shakes his head again, just as sloth like. They're only about five inches apart and he can see McCloud’s mind racing. After a few seconds of staring to get his point across, he softly takes his hand off the others face and leans back in his chair. Cooper visibly looks astonished, staring straight back into the bone white of his mask.

It's the Judges turn to raise his brows. He watches McCloud come down from his surprise and unabashedly look the Judge up and down. He had a borderline stupid facial expression so he assumes Coops doing it as some kind of joke, but it's a little too promising for the Judge. He sees McCloud’s eyes _start_ at his legs and up his muscled thighs. Judge _knows_  those cerulean eyes take in the form of his bulge through his stitched leather pants. He can recognize the sudden want in the blonde's face and body language.

The Judge is interested now. He leans forward, elbows on his knees and empty eyes staring back. McCloud followed his thick arms up to his broad shoulders. In this moment Cooper McCloud decides that he wouldn't be opposed to having a piece of the Judge for himself. Of course he won't disclose such information to the man himself, but what's wrong with a man day dreaming?

A few seconds after the Judge leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees and the the blonde's eyes settled on the mask again. The total time he stared at him had to have only been five seconds but it felt way longer for the both of them. This time McCloud panicked a little, yeah it was a bit of a joke but he actually just gave the Judge, the one that ‘speaks words only of violence’, the sex eyes. Now he's having anxiety.

McCloud chuckles, more modest now, he looks away for a fraction of a second, feeling the intense gaze on him. “It's all good, I get why you don't want me to say that shit.”

Not only did McCloud open a can of worms with the Judge with that look he just gave him. Cooper gave the Judge a certain suspiciousness, or maybe a hopefulness. Cooper on the other hand feels put on the spot with that torturous empty gaze.

Since the Judge couldn't talk to break such a stifling silence, Coop did the honors for him. “Hey bud,” he starts with a light smile. The Judge tips his chin up to him and the Cap continues. “you want to help a friend walk outside for a little while? It's too fucking stuffy in here.” Or maybe that's just their heated sexual tension. Cooper isn't sure. Or maybe it's just him feeling some type of way.

Thankfully, the Judge nods and moves to stand up and Coop murmurs a “Thanks.” As he throws the blankets off and stiffly moves to the edge of the bed.

His bandages are spotted with old, rusty blood. He winces when he flexes his abdomen to sit all the way up and continue to support himself. Cooper at least has a pair of khaki shorts on so he won't have to have the poor Judge help him put pants on.

Once he finally makes it to the edge of the bed the Judge is standing but a foot away in front of him, head cocked like he doesn't believe that Coop is well enough to even be out of bed. Coop eyes the mask, “Whatever you're thinking, I'm fine. I can do this. You just need to help me get up.” He breathes.

The Judge shakes his head like ‘Oh well’ and hands him his own open palm for the blonde to take. He takes it with his right hand, his good arm, and squeezes like his life depends on it. The taller man pulls him up slowly while lying a leathered hand on his back. They're chests almost touch, but they're not quite close enough for such friction as Judge steps back a few inches to give him some room.

It's not like his legs are injured, but it still hurts to walk. He gets migraines when he gets up too fast and sometimes keeps them until he lays back down. Not just that, but since he got stabbed a few times in the side he’s been a little too stiff and inflexible for his liking. Stretching will only tear his stitches so he doesn't even get to enjoy that.

While he's stabilizing himself with a hand gripping the furred shoulder of his partner he slips on a pair of beach sandals, they're definitely made for a more feminine touch. With a white background and pink and purple pineapples all over some would be embarrassed to wear. Fuck that, Cooper strutted his ass in these sandals for over a week now, it didn't bother him. So, he begins in the direction of the door. Keeps his left arm limp at his side, it feels heavy and painful. He's trying to use it as little as possible.

Once he escapes the room, he lets go of his savior’s shoulder and walks at a slow pace with the other merely one step behind. Kim isn't in her usual spot at the desk so he goes on outside. Not bothering to pay attention to anyone else.

The moment he steps into the sun he sighs. “God, this is nice.” It's a beautiful day, the rays are shining onto Prosperity. I looks breathtaking and just so incredibly  _worth it_.

His partner comes to lean against the steps just in front of the enormous house. Just watching as usual. That's all he can do. He feels something deep in his gut when he's watching the sun bounce off those seductive blue eyes, the shine of his blonde hair too. His toned body, not as big as his but still just as stunning. Then he sees Coopers face fall. He seems nervous all of a sudden, so he gets up to remedy the problem.

Pressing up beside him, not too close, but still not far enough, he smooths a hand over his upper back just to let him know he was there and quickly removes it. The blonde gleams a nervous smile that says trouble. “If Carmina sees me–“

“Mr. McCloud!” Sounds a females shrill voice and they both cringe. Cooper cringes more because he knows he's in trouble. “What're you doing out here?” It's Kim this time. That's not all that better.

She almost stomps over to the couple and her brows are furrowed, her face is in a frown too, she means business. “Or Kim...” he sighs. “Her too.”

She's about to rip McCloud a new one when she finally realizes that the Judge has returned. “Oh, well look at you two.” She says more cheerful then her previous statement, mood completely switching for a second. “I'm glad you're back.” She smiles at the Judge and he grunts back. “Now, why is this fine gentleman outside then?”

The Judge snaps his head in Coopers direction. A look that basically said ‘You're not allowed out here and you took advantage of me not being here by convincing me to help you outside’ The blonde laughs again and shrugs. “I just wanted to see the damn sun, is that so bad? He won't let me get hurt.”

The Judge almost shivers at those words. He _already did_. He wasn't able to save him from the first time and that's why they're in this situation in the first place. They're set miles back from where they should be right now in their plan to end the twins rein over Hope county. The Judge shakes his head at his own thoughts. He almost feels like he needs a quiet place to repent again.

When a hand slapping onto his shoulder snaps him out of his thoughts he jumps a little. It's just Cooper trying to snake his way out of getting yelled. “Come on. The sun is good for the body and mind. I need some outside time.” After about ten minutes of them going back and forth she finally relents.

Then a polished fingernail pokes itself into his chest. “You, could you please follow him around. Keep him on a tight leash please?”

The Judge nods and growls back at her. Of course, that's what he is doing anyway. Then she walks off back into their headquarters. The Judge looks over at the blonde, already putting the conversation in the back of his mind and soaking up the sun again.

“Help me find a beach chair big guy, I know we got one around here somewhere.” The Judge sighs and boy was that a mistake, cause Coop hears it and freezes before looking back at him.

“That's the most normal sound I've ever heard you make. Not in a rude way,” he stumbles, he doesn't want to offend him. “you know, I just uhh– I like it.” Then he squints his eyes and furrows his brows. “I mean, not like that. I just-“

The Judge waves him off with a shake of his head and starts gently pushing him off in a direction to look for a beach chair. Or any chair for that matter.

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me whatcha think! Comments always appreciated, I'm down for some collective criticism.


End file.
